I whip my hair back and forth!

I am starting to be able to cope with the bottle flies lingering around and crawling on me, but the midgies are really doing my head in. I've swished my pony tail so much I think I've given myself whiplash.

I'm wearing 50% DEET bug spray and I'm covered up, clearly they think I am tasty as I currently have 15 bites on my face and hairline alone!

The beasties just like to swarm around us all regardless of how clean we are or whether we have repellent on, curious little creatures!

Kx

And then there were 19...

We have just bid a farewell to half the volunteers, they are off to their host homes in Addis Ababa this afternoon and will be starting their placements shortly. 

This leaves behind 19 of us, the Hawassa team. We are heading there tomorrow morning, around 7am by coach which should be around 4 to 5 hours journey. 

We have all been assigned counterparts now, I have been paired with a guy called Tewodros, or 'Teddy' for short. Unfortunately we do not know our placements yet, but we should know when we get to Hawassa! 

Meet Teddy!

This is a snap of all the volunteers before the Addis team departed (I am in this one!)

Kx

Give a man a fish you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for life

The below content is that of my own opinion, it is not intended to cause malice or offence, neither is it comprehensive or endless. It is not endorsed or supported directly by VSO or the ICS programme. Africa is referenced due to it being my current location and the forefront of discussion.

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We had a very interesting discussion today surrounding the stereotypes associated with Africa and what we can do to change the negative attitudes surrounding Africa’s development. In my opinion the Media has a huge piece of blame pie to eat with regards to how the attitudes and stereotypes have evolved in the Western World regarding developing countries. We also lack the education of such subjects. Yes, if you are genuinely interested you can go online and hunt round for reports from the government or charities – but surely this information should be in plain sight and not hidden under a rather large carpet.

Hands up if you have seen an advert for one charity or another featuring an image of an African woman or child, most probably naked or wearing dirty clothes, covered in flies, in poor health and eating something we would be repulsed by. Did you give your £2 a month when you saw that advert? Do you think you £2 a month helps? I recall a poster from the trains when I was commuting which featured a young girl and the caption said “Do you remember leaving school, getting married, your first period and having your first child? She does, she is 12 years old”. I was horrified. Sadly, I feel that so many of us are desensitised to these images because they have been shoved in our faces in so many media forms that we don’t even think twice about them now. They will do anything to evoke and emotion and get their dollar out of you. It is also then a fair assumption that we all associate the things we see with the whole of Afica generally, because of course it’s the same everywhere.

Those of you who put your hand up for the adverts, if it was a TV advert, did you change the channel before the advert ended? Yes, I thought so.

Do we have to be horrified by the information we see to be moved enough to try and make a difference? Surely, as human we should naturally care for human welfare. Why can’t we be moved enough to help when we see something positive. For example, Water Aid have an advert that starts off a little like that described above, but end with scenes of the changes donations have brought; new wells, new water filter systems, people rejoicing because finally they have a resource available which should be available to everyone in the world as standard.

Throwing money at a problem does not fix it. We can safely say that about most scenarios, not just development. What image does this portray for the Western World? Sure, money helps, money is essential for some things to be implemented. It can do a world of good, but it can work in the opposite way also.

One of the national volunteers today mentioned that some parts of Africa, who receive regular material aid (food packs, clothing, medical supplies) often rely on receiving them so much so that they become too lazy to sustain themselves. Surely this works against the point of providing aid.

It is a vicious circle, to assist developing countries we have to provide skills, doing this cost money, money doesn’t make itself and therefore donations are required, and there we are back at square one with the adverts that spread the stereotype that we should be avoiding.

When we flipped the discussion to stereotypes Africa has about the Western World we heard that most people believed the West give aid in exchange for something they want or need, not out of goodwill. What does this say about us? It was also noted that the Western World does not come to see the changes, there is very much a stigma attached with Africa regarding your safety as a foreigner. Rightly so in some cases, particularly with the large scale of civil unrest there has been throughout the continent in recent times. If we are too afraid to go, see for ourselves, investigate and share our findings, how will we know if we are making a difference? How do we know if the images we see regularly are current and accurately portray the living conditions we are trying to improve?

As you can imagine this topic opens up a lot of debate, it is an endless conversation. I could write more and more about it, but I hope you get the gist and that you are having a rethink of your own attitude towards Africa and providing aid.

If we can’t get the Media to pull its socks up and make a difference to the attitude it creates, it is down to individuals like me and other volunteers around the world, people like you reading this now, and the people you will share this with to make a difference. I am by no means preaching, but it is very easy to accept a stereotype as truth, it happens every day in all sorts of ways. We have to educate ourselves – just as well we have the World Wide Web to do just that.

Kx

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I appreciate that this is a very serious topic, I have tried to make light of it for the purpose of my blog being a place for me to express ideas and share my experience. I would be grateful for comments or to hear that you have opened debate with your friends and family about this. The debate we had raised a lot of issues, ideas and food for thought from both UK and Ethiopian volunteers. It is refreshing to have such a healthy debate on matters like this without it escalating to arguments or absolute rule. I by no means imply that any efforts made by readers to support charities for various causes should cease, more that if you want to make a difference you need to know your stuff! 

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

After being sat outside at the University of an evening, in a courtyard that has very little lighting I have come to appreciate the lack of light pollution here. The moon has such a glow, something I have never seen so brightly before, and the sky is so clear and so dark that the stars really do twinkle. Maybe it’s the fact that we are in a higher altitude, and we are actually closer to the stars, but the night sky is actually breath taking. I hope that as we move on to more rural areas it will just seem even more magical.

I have resolved to do a little research on constellations so that I can piece together what I can see to mean something. The only one I can recall is Orions belt, which I think I can see – I’ll keep you posted on my star gazing!

Kx 

Sergei, you leave hairballs in jacuzzi again

You may recall in a previous blog post I wrote about friends and family giving me ‘post’ to take away with me. Today I spotted an envelope marked ‘Open me ASAP’ – so naturally I did just that! Fortunately for the contents that I did this promptly, for what should I find inside?  A Meer Kat! No, not real one but the next best thing. This Meer Kat comes courtesy of my Aunt Christine and was accompanied by a lyrical letter explaining the purpose of there being a stowaway in the envelope;

“Consider me your family although it’s me and you, tell me all your stories and I’ll stop you feeling blue.

My hat is your Hubski,

My handy muff your mum and dad,

My tooties Aunt Christine and Papa Bill.

And I think that’s not bad. Kerry, Craig and Meredith keep sliding down my tail – they’re all waiting for my blog to start and you to share your tales.”

I hear you can meet some of his family at comparethemeerkat.com, it seems Alexander Orlov let him have some time off work to come away with me. He tells me his name is Kristof, and there we have it, I have been joined by a Meer Kat for my trip, he is safely secured to my rucksack and will most definitely be getting up to mischief.

Kx

Fifteen Lemons

The purpose of us all being together at the Addis Ababa University for a few days is for us to do some training and orientation. Come Tuesday, 19 of us will then head to Hawassa and 20 will remain in Addis. During this time we have had the CEO of VSO Ethiopia visit us to discuss objectives of the scheme and security and safety elements. Also, a returned volunteer from the pilot scheme came to do some world development topics with us, and also another UK volunteer who has now been in Ethiopia 5 years and is working for the ministry of Education worked on cross cultural issues with us.

One of the key areas that has also been covered is ‘Working together’, a skill which is hugely important for the projects we will be working on. During our many discussions an Amharic phrase came up which I thought I should share with you all, ‘Hamsa lommy le hamsa sew shekmu, le hamsa sew gettu new’. This translates to ‘Fifteen lemons are a load for one person, but are a décor for fifteen’ which should hopefully give you food for thought.

One of the exercises we did was a human maze, in which the majority of the group created a maze with challenges through it, one person was blind folded but could ask questions in order to find their way, and one person was elected to be the guide but could only answer yes or no to the questions. It worked surprisingly well, below is a snap shot, although without the above information it would not be entirely clear what was going on in the photo!

The team morale is quite high at the moment, and it can easily be seen that the differences in our culture are not affecting our compatibility with each other, quite the opposite in fact. It’s fascinating learning about aspects of Ethiopian life, and in balance a lot of the visible culture is much like ours. For example in Addis western dress is widely adopted, and is not restricted to being strictly modest but we are told that Addis is becoming somewhat ‘cosmopolitan’ by comparison to the majority of Ethiopia.

Something which has stuck in my mind as a point of interest from our training has been the term “leap frogging” with regards to technological development in Ethiopia. As a direct comparison, in the UK years ago we had no telephones. Then came a day where there were telephones available in public places to share (phone boxes), then it became the norm to have a telephone in your own home (land line), and now we have a huge mobile phone infrastructure and all the singing and dancing that goes with it. Well, Ethiopia went from no phones to mobile phones and missed out all the experimental bits in between. Land line telephones became redundant before they were even used due to mobile phones taking off in such a big way. The point being shown here is that as a country Ethiopia may be less developed, but it is catching up pretty quickly and picking and choosing the best development strategies to do so.

Some of the debates we have been having clearly show a difference in each volunteers opinion and topical knowledge, at times I have felt that I perhaps am an imposter in this scheme as I am not as well read on key areas as others. I’ve come to decide that this is okay, I am not ignorant to it all, I am aware and I have an opinion and for me (and some others who want to share my boat) that is more than enough. Most certainly I will return home with a much greater understanding, and a direct interest in world issues, having experienced some of the most important at first hand.

Kx

P.S For those interested, sadly Ethiopia lost their match the other night with a 4-0 score. 

Kimberly 1 - 0 Ethiopian Toilet

They say every single volunteer can bring skills to their placement, never did I think mine would be of the plumbing kind.

Much to many people’s misconception, Ethiopia does indeed have toilets. Much like those we get in the UK; ones you sit on, with a water flush (although similar to many countries in Europe, you cannot flush toilet paper – no biggie).

I happened to notice the toilet in my room seemed to constantly be filling, so I went in to investigate. Upon lifting the lid to the cistern, it was in fact nearly brimming to the top with water. Just as well I spotted it!

With a bit of jiggery pokery, some pleading and the help of a Swiss army knife, I managed to rectify the problem. So, thanks goes to my Papa Bill for the Swiss army knife and to my Daddy for making me help with the DIY at home – without such things I would surely have been ankle deep in toilet water.

Sadly my manicure did not survive this experience.

K x

P.S No they do not teach this in the girl guides, but I think maybe they should!

First impressions

'Little Donkey'

This is a quick snap of me at the underground on my way to the airport (granted not the most flattering photo), looking like a pack horse, carrying my life for the next 3 months. I am grateful that once I am settled with my host family I will not have to lug this stuff about, and on my way home it should all be considerably lighter!

After a smooth, but rather long journey I have made it to Addis Ababa along with 18 other UK VSO volunteers. We arrived at sunrise, this was the view from the plane as we came in to land.

Sunrise from Addis Ababa airport

We are currently staying in Addis Ababa University, we have met up with 20 Ethiopian VSO volunteers who will be our counterparts for the duration of our trip. The next few days are about building rapport with each other and making sure we are all on the same page in terms of our purpose here and the objectives of the ICS project.

My first impressions are all very good, Ethiopians offer a very warm welcome (and I don’t just mean the sunshine!). Yesterday we were lucky enough to experience a traditional coffee ceremony, in which fresh coffee beans are toasted and coffee is made from them which is served to you with a healthy helping of sugar and a sprig of 'Tena Adam'. There was also popcorn and 'Diffo' cake to try, much to our delight. I have never had coffee like this, usually taking mine in the form of a Skinny Latte or a Cortado. However, I must say I am most definitely a convert and now worry, that after only 2 days here, I may be returning with a caffeine addiction.

Wearing traditional dress and tending to the coffee beans

'Espresso' size coffee served to me

In order to make sure our cross cultural relationships work in perfect harmony, we had a session of sharing known taboos from each of our cultures. We were advised by our counterparts that in Ethiopia it is not accepted for women to smoke in public, neither is it okay for you to fart (yes, this is the actual word used by the nationals) or burp in public, and you should not raise your voice unnecessarily. These are all things that I will certainly be able to cope with!

Today we had a brief Amharic lesson, and we should have a couple more before we head off to our projects. It is a nice challenge trying to get your tongue around the pronunciation and remembering the male and female terms to be used. I’ll keep you posted on my progress with that!

Tonight there is a very important football match on, Ethiopia are playing in the African Cup  of nations (for the first time in 31 years) so there is a potential ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity for the nationals to experience their team playing and hopefully winning – you can feel the excitement in the air as Ethiopians are absolutely crazy about football. So much so that they are genuinely shocked when some of us responded with “Oh, I am not into football really”. Something else that I think will change while we are here!

Kx

With thanks to Menelik for the Ahmaric wording used above. 

How could you falter when you’re the rock of Gibraltar?

Some people are just lucky in love; I like to think that is the case with my Steve and I. We were teenage sweethearts and after being together 6 years we got married in 2011. The icing on the cake when we got married was that he supported my desire to keep my maiden name and took a very unusual choice of changing his so that we were unified by name- as you can imagine for a man to relinquish his name to take that of his wife opens up a whole new can of worms in terms of opinions of such a choice. This solidifies not only that as long as we are a couple we can overcome anything, but that he truly does feel part of my family.

Since we tied the knot it has been a whirlwind of changes in our lives, from buying our home, travelling the world, to changing jobs and in my case leaving my job entirely.

Why am I bringing this up? Well, nothing I do would be quite as enjoyable if it weren’t for the support of my husband, for me he is the metaphorical rock that so many people look for in life. Support comes in so many forms, and he displays all of them at all times. Emotional and financial support is invaluable in all relationships, I am lucky enough to have a husband and family who do not think twice to provide either of these things if I or we need it.

I find myself so wrapped up in my plans for travelling that when people gasp at me in reply to the information that I am going away without my husband for three months, I have to stop and think. I will be off on an adventure, meeting new people and trying new things, but it is him that will have to come home to an empty house, and eat alone most nights. At what cost to our relationship will my trip be? I hope there will only be a positive effect, and that most certainly he will come to see that even if I am not around he has a network of friends and family will rally round him if he needs it. As they say, absence makes the heart grow stronger.

Just to be on the safe side, to ensure that he survives while I am away, I have been busy making home cooked meals and freezing them – something I consider to be a bit of a comfort at least. As I know he has a terrible memory, I have also organised things for all the birthdays and events that I will miss while I am away. So, when something slips by him he won’t feel guilty as at least I prepared everything! My friends and family have strict instructions to keep him amused for the next few months, if anything he will be busier than ever while I am away!

Kx

S.W.A.L.K

Everyone loves getting post, not brown envelope credit card statement/HMRC post but fun post. The kind of post where you try to guess who it is from before you have opened it, solely based on the handwriting on the front and what the purpose of such post could be. When you cannot guess, give in and open it you then kick yourself thinking “darn I did know that was so-and-so’s writing!” – Everyone does it.

I decided that fun post would be something I missed. I have told Hubski he is more than welcome to open the boring brown envelope post and do with it as he pleases while I am away. The fun post however is likely to stop, what with people knowing I am not there to get it. Then I had a light bulb moment…

I am away for 12 weeks, I know 12 people, why not get them to each write me a letter/create some post for me which I will then take with me and each week I will open the relevant post.  Yipeee, I shall have fun post after all.

This is my post for the next 12 weeks, more fun post than I would usually get in 12 weeks which is rather nice. I cannot wait to read them all!

Thanks everyone!

Kx

Contender Ready! Gladiator Ready!

Two days to go and I am all packed and ready, well as best as can be without packing things I still need to use before I depart. 

So, what do I actually need for my trip? Well, essential things like clothes and shoes for formal and casual purposes. Which seems rather simple, but add in the heat and cultural expectations of how you should dress and suddenly it because far more difficult to find clothes you already own that are suitable. With it being mid-winter here, it is even harder to shop for new things to fit the criteria. This results in a lot of clothes that potentially do not match up as outfits and extra things like pashmina wraps and leggings being added last minute to act as cover ups. 

(I really do hope that we aren't judged on our ability to pack well and make outfits out of our packing which do not make us look like we got dressed in the dark each day, I like to be 'trendy' but on this occasion I am opting for practical and light weight!)

Then of course you have toiletries to add to the mix, not just your basic shampoo, conditioner and toothpaste but any potential extras you made need and cannot get hold of out there. I have half a suitcase which resembles a good portion of a Boots Pharmacy, basically anything that has the word ‘relief’ in its name has made it into the case; pain relief, diarrhoea relief, constipation relief, bite relief…you get the picture. Plus antimalarial pills, sun cream, after sun cream, bug repellent et cetera, none of which come in a ‘light weight’ option.

An experience like this would not be the same if you could not capture it to share upon your return, hence I will be taking my Nikon DSLR, a camcorder and my laptop. These then also require leads, plugs and whatnot. To make sure the odd electrical surges experienced in Ethiopia do not zapp any of my gizmos I have purchased a fused converter plug just to be on the safe side.

I was brought up to know it is polite to offer gifts when you are a house guest and therefore have packed a few trinkets (notebooks and pens) and delicacies (crème eggs, Scottish shortbread and sweeties) to take to my host family, after all they are giving me a home and feeding me for twelve weeks!

Can you tell how heavy my rucksack is going to be yet? On top of all the above, plus some things which are too obvious to note and random extras like a pen knife (courtesy of my Papa Bill), a spork (courtesy of my sister), torch, needle & thread, a litre size water bottle, travel pillow and a sleeping bag sheet, I am weighing in at around 28kg. I have expanded from a 65L hiking rucksack to also have a mini wheeled suitcase as check in luggage and also a rucksack for hand luggage.

A special thanks goes to my friend Sophie who helped me to pick a rucksack and various other things I had no clue about, having never been camping or been backpack style travelling before!

No traveller would be fully equipped without a Saint Christopher to ensure safe journey, a pendant which my mum gave me today and shall remain around my neck until I return! 

Kx

P.s I defy anyone not to read the title of this post in a Scottish accent as per John Anderson on Gladiators! 

Snowflakes falling, sunshine calling

As I am sat at my desk, with a view of gentle snow falling in the garden I can help but think 'Yipeeee I am off to catch some sunshine!'. I must admit in November when I found out I was going to Ethiopia I added Addis Ababa to my weather app on my phone, just out of curiosity. Since then, the weather has shown a steady high in the mid 20's most days with a drop to around 10-12 each evening - not too shabby. 

However, I have to remind myself that this isn't a holiday, it is not going to be bikinis, sangria and sun loungers but actually modest clothing, long days and some pretty tough work. Of course, we will have down time but out of respect to our community and adopted culture for our time there, we can't behave like we're in an episode of Benidorm. I am hoping that we will learn new ways to enjoy ourselves and that it will open a whole new perspective on what 'having fun' is. 

It has been many years since I spent more than a fortnight in a consistently hot climate, having spend a few years in Puerto Rico as a child. I will most likely acclimatise to it pretty quickly, not that you would think it with my 'English rose' complexion (someone once said that to me and I felt a bit offended, it must be the whisky Scottish blood in my veins).

I like to think that the snippets of experience I have from my 25 years (with many thanks to my parents) will serve me well on this journey, that's not to say I don't expect to learn a lot but that I think I am quite well prepared - I'll soon find out!

Kx

The beginning

By introduction, my name is Kimberly. I am 25 years old, born in Spain and have a Scottish heritage. My husbands name is Steve (Hubski), we have two cats and live in Essex. I consider myself to be a little creative/artistic but am often lazy with it. I love to try new things whether it is food, challenges or travelling.  This is my first blog so please don't expect anything spectacular, I will try my best! Hopefully you'll learn more about me as I ramble through. 

~~~

With only six days to go until I set off to Ethiopia for three months I thought I would start a blog, which I will hopefully be able to update while I am away. 

This entire adventure is down to the International Citizen Service (ICS) and Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) without either of these organisations I very much doubt I would be involved in anything like this. Getting involved has been easy and I have been very well supported along the way which makes it far easier to take the leap of faith needed to take on a project like this. 

On 23 January 2013 I will be leaving my husband, family and friends behind in the UK to embark on twelve weeks of voluntary work in Ethiopia, Awassa to be more specific. This trip will be life changing, emotional and a unique experience and I cannot wait to get there and get my hands dirty, so to speak. 

The specific details of our project are under wraps at the moment, so it really is a mystery what I'll actually be doing when I get there, but this most certainly adds to the excitement and anticipation. 

What I know so far is that I am in a group of 9 volunteers being based in  Awassa, there is also a team going to Addis Ababa. We will all have a "counterpart volunteer" to live with in the community and another for working with. We will also live with 'host family' which may vary from an elderly widow to a family with children. 

The support I have received so far from family friends and organisations has been remarkable, not just in terms of fundraising but also suggestions for things to pack, small things to take with me and general guidance on what to expect. 

I was set a fundraising target of £800 by VSO (this DOES NOT pay for my trip/expenses but goes direct to VSO to be used towards their projects. The ICS scheme run by the Department for International Development funds young people aged 18-25 to volunteer abroad. It is estimated that each volunteer sent costs around £7,000 from day one of application to the day the come back and complete their Returned Volunteer duties and for this reason a target is set so that each volunteer can show their commitment to the projects). I am proud to say that I have smashed through my target (I set my own of £1,000) and hope to continue receiving donations while I am away and upon my return. If you want to contribute please check out the donation links to the right of the blog. 

I have no idea how frequently I will be able to update you all while I am away, but I will most certainly try and I will be posting a fair bit before I go so you know my preparations and plans. 

Thanks all for now

Kx